1.A Pulmonary Telerehabilitation Program Improves Exercise Capacity and Quality of Life in Young Females Post-COVID-19 Patients
Ashwag S. ALSHARIDAH ; FatmaAlzahraa H. KAMEL ; Afrah A. ALANAZI ; Enas A. ALHAWSAH ; Hajar K. ALHARBI ; Zahrah O. ALRSHEDI ; Maged A. BASHA
Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine 2023;47(6):502-510
Objective:
To examine the impact of telerehabilitation training on exercise capacity, lung function, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in comparison to no rehabilitation for post-COVID-19 symptoms in adult females.
Methods:
A randomized controlled trial of 48 females after mild to moderate COVID-19 survival were equally and randomly assigned to one of two groups: intervention group or control group. Three sessions per week for 6 weeks of a telerehabilitation program provided via a smartphone to the intervention group. Spirometry was used to quantify lung function, a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) measured in meters to measure exercise capacity, and the Short Form Health Survey-36 was used to assess HRQOL.
Results:
After treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in forced vital capacity (FVC) or forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) between groups (p>0.05), but the 6MWT of the intervention group increased significantly more than that of the control group (p=0.001). The percent of change in 6MWT for the intervention group and control group was 14.22% and 4.21%, respectively. After therapy, the intervention group’s HRQOL significantly improved when compared to the control group’s (p=0.001).
Conclusion
This study showed that a telerehabilitation programs improved exercise capacity and HRQOL in young females post-COVID-19 compared to no rehabilitation.
2.Efficacy of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy on Cervical Myofascial Pain Following Neck Dissection Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
FatmaAlzahraa Hassan KAMEL ; Maged BASHA ; Ashwag ALSHARIDAH ; Islam Mohamed HEWIDY ; Mohamed EZZAT ; Nancy Hassan ABOELNOUR
Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine 2020;44(5):393-401
Objective:
To investigate the efficacy of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) on cervical myofascial pain following neck dissection in reducing pain and improving cervical range of motion (ROM).
Methods:
Forty-six patients with cervical myofascial pain following neck dissection surgery were recruited and subdivided at random into two equal groups. The ESWT group received ESWT once a week for 4 weeks (0.25 mL/mm2, 1,000 shocks) and a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (3 times/day for 4 weeks). The control group received only topical NSAID. The pain assessment was done by using the visual analog scale (VAS) and pressure algometry. A cervical ROM device was used for the assessment of the lateral flexion and rotation of the neck ROM on both sides. All measurements were collected at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks.
Results:
The ESWT group revealed a significant improvement in all parameters at post I and post II than did the control group (p>0.001), that revealed a statistical decrease only in the VAS score at post I without any statistical difference in the pain threshold and neck ROM. However, there were statistical differences in all parameters at post II compared to those at pre-treatment and post I (p<0.001).
Conclusion
As a confirmation of the efficacy of ESWT in cervical myofascial pain control following neck dissection, we observed better results with no side effects in the ESWT group (Clinical Trial Registry No. PACTR202002648274347).